Green Your Home With These Tips

We spend a lot of time and money in our homes, so why not make it more eco-friendly? Over time, eco-friendly homes not only save you money, but also protects the environment, which means your kids and their kids and their kids can enjoy the same fresh air and clean lakes you did as a child. Not a bad plan, eh?

However, rather than asking to fork out huge sums of money on new windows or solar panels or forcing you to live like a cavemen living in no heat, our goals are easy ideas for the everyday family to follow.

Thus, here are our steps to making your home more eco-friendly.

Turn off your gadgets!

Did you know most electronic devices and appliances still use power even when they’re switched off? From the coffee maker to microwave, laptop to speakers, appliances that are plugged in continue to be a major drain on your energy consumption long after you’ve gone to bed.

You can cut your energy consumption quickly and cheaply by simply unplugging your appliances and devices when they’re not in use or plugging them into a power bar, which can then shut them all off at once. Bonus: no more bright, blinking LED lights in the nighttime.

Replace your lightbulbs

While this may cost a few extra dollars at the beginning, buying new light bulbs is a great investment in the long run. Old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs waste tons of energy than their new competition of compact fluorescent (CFL) and LED bulbs, which both last ten times as long and waste up to ⅔ less energy. This mean lower hydro bills, brighter rooms, and less trips to the shopping mall. Win, win, win.

Use a microwave!

It may seem strange, but a stovetop or oven can use much, much more energy than a microwave does. This is because a microwave can cook food at a faster rate, making it 50 % more efficient than a conventional oven. Zap away, but just make sure to unplug it when you’re done!

Start composting

Stop wasting your waste and invest in a composter today. A composter can turn your household scraps into healthy, organic dirt, perfect for spring gardeners or anyone who is simply tired of seeing their garbage bags pile up each week.

A household composter can be small, fitting beside your garbage can. It can take anything from coffee grinds to apple cores and reduces the amount of garbage you have to deal at home (and in the world). Plus, it makes garbage day a little less stinky, which is something we can all agree it worth it.

Wash cold & hang to dry

Did you know that 80 to 90 per cent of household energy is wasted on hot water? While we’re not telling you to take cold showers just yet, you can become more eco-friendly by simply washing your clothes in cold water and then hanging them to dry. This stops a lot of energy being wasted on both warming the water and then blasting the clothes with heat.

Many companies now sell laundry detergent for cold water and almost all laundry machines will have a setting for it, so you don’t have many excuses. And guess what!? Your clothes will thank you! Most clothing companies actually recommend washing your clothes in cold water and hanging them to dry, as this preserves the quality of clothes from wear and tear. So after seeing how washing cold and hanging to dry will save you money in both your energy bills and shopping expenses, will you give it a try?